rwww80a wrote:
Amazon is hawking K&F Concepts filters. Anybody use these? Or have an opinion? One they advertise is a combo polarizer and ND and then they add the descriptor "no cross." A first in the industry? Or just something this old guy hasn't heard of.
I have several K&F Concept filters.
They sell two or three different qualities. I've only purchased the "nano coated" type... circular polarizers (high transmissive) and a couple fixed strength ND. More recently they have been listed as having "high quality optical glass", but earlier (when I bought mine) were stating it was German Schott glass. Don't know if it still is or, for that matter, if it ever actually was!
I have no complaints at all. They seem like very good filters. For the past 20 or 25 years, I've mostly have used only B+W MRC, F-Pro and XS-Pro. But these were available at bargain prices so I thought what the heck, give them a try! Don't know if it's still available, but it was a kit of C-Pol, 3 stop ND (ND8) and 6 stop ND (ND64) that they offered for a great price. All three in the kit were about 2/3 the price of a B+W C-Pol at that time. (I don't know how the prices compare now.)
K&F are not mounted in brass frames (like B+W) and the only complaint I've heard once or twice were "stiff adjusting ring" on C-Pol or variable ND. Mine have been fine and I can't help but wonder if that stiffness would have gone away pretty quickly, after a little use. Stiff certainly seemed preferable to too loose a ring that might not reliably hold a setting.
They have offered at least two types of variable ND. I don't use either, but one is fairly standard with a range like 3 stops to 10 stops (approx... a wide range). The other type is a pair with much narrower ranges.... something like 1 stop to 5 stop and 5 stop to 9 stop. These latter seem to be the "better" type that are multi-coated and don't suffer from the problems typical of a variable ND with wider range.
There are a number of places where you can buy K&F Concept filters. You'll find them on eBay, at Adorama, B&H, their own "Kent Faith" website (Hong Kong?) and elsewhere. They also have begun offering tripods, camera bags, lens adapters and other photo accessories.
You didn't say what size you needed, but the K&F CPL + 1-5 stop ND in 67mm costs...
Amazon........... $85
Adorama.......... $80
B&H Photo........ $80
KentFaith.com... $74 (+ shipping?)
https://www.adorama.com/kfc011140.htmlhttps://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1534830-REG/k_f_concept_kf01_1140_67mm_nano_x_circ_polarizer.htmlhttps://www.kentfaith.com/nd-filters/KF01.1085_67mm-variable-nd2-nd32-neutral-density-and-circular-polarizing-filter?filter=11